The Origins course tracks the origin of all things – from the Big Bang to the origin of the Solar System and the Earth. The course follows the evolution of life on our planet through deep geological time to present life forms.

From the lesson

Origins and Early Development of Plants / The Origin and Diversification of Flowering Plants

In module 7, we will have a closer look at the biggest source of oxygen – the plants. Up till now we have heard a lot about the evolution of higher life forms in the oceans. While evolution took a giant step forward in the oceans, the continents remained totally barren for another approx. 100 million years. Vivi Vajda from the Lund University in Sweden and Gitte Petersen will tell you how the plants began to inhabit the terrestrial environment, thus paving the way for other life forms living on land. Land plants have managed to adapt to a very different environment, with new challenges and possibilities. Some of the early plants have survived as fossils – whereas others are still alive. Some of these living fossils will be presented in the videos. We will also have a close look at the biggest group of plants – which has evolved in close collaboration with insects, birds and even some mammals – the flowering plants.